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FIU Business and the university's Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management have launched a hospitality concentration in the FIU Business Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) program. The first class will begin in spring 2025.
The program aims to develop executive leaders who can conduct applied rather than theoretical research, including qualitative and quantitative research methods, organizational behavior and theory, and research design as well as data collection and analysis.
"Hospitality relies heavily on business analytics," said George Marakas, associate dean of research and doctoral studies at FIU Business. "Being able to do proper research and make it reliable certainly benefits whatever organization they work for."
Four business classes in the existing FIU Business DBA program have been replaced with four hospitality-specific courses, which students in the hospitality concentration will take in the program's second year. These include Social Responsibility and Sustainability for Hospitality and Tourism, as well as Contemporary Issues in Hospitality and Tourism Management.
The hospitality DBA concentration is designed for senior-level professionals who have established themselves in the industry and are looking for advancement or to pursue the next chapter in their career.
"We are very excited to offer this new, hospitality-focused doctorate degree, which will prepare experienced industry professionals with research skills and pedagogy to better prepare them to lead and teach the future leaders of the hospitality industry," said Michael Cheng, dean of the Chaplin School.
Doctoral degree–seeking students will be able to leverage these new skills and tools with their executive experience to advance in their current career, become an independent consultant or join the ranks of hospitality professors.
"Hospitality is a multibillion–dollar industry and a key economic driver for South Florida, the U.S. and around the world. Our first cohort will be guided by hospitality educators with years of both award-winning research and industry expertise," said Andrew Moreo, Chaplin School associate professor and director of research.
The three-year FIU Business DBA program meets in downtown Miami once per month on Fridays and Saturdays, with online classes held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.
